The Dover High School spirit squad finished second at the New England meet last Saturday in Lawrence, Mass. (Chris Karas/Democrat photo)

DOVER — Deziree Dixon could feel the tension rising as the grip of her teammates’ hands became tighter.

For the senior co-captain of the Dover High School cheerleading team, this was the part of last Saturday’s New England championship meet in Lawrence, Mass., that was the most exciting, but also the most stressful — waiting for the final results.

Dixon and the rest of the Green Wave got the result they were looking for — second place in the co-ed division.

“It was really stressful,” Dixon said. “You just don’t want to hear your name until the end. Everyone’s hands gripped tighter as they announced the teams. You never know in competitions. It could go either way.”

It was the highest finish ever at the regional meet for Dover, which had placed second at the NHIAA Division I meet a week earlier.

“It was pretty amazing,” said Kristen Heagarty, Dover’s 12th-year coach. “We hit a perfect routine. It was better than anything we could have asked for and there wasn’t really anything we could have done to place any higher.”

Biddeford, Maine, won the competition and Natick, Mass., was third.

Dover senior co-captain Mallory Mello said the Green Wave’s routine was fast paced with a number of elements that required a high level of skill.

“There’s a lot of skill put into it and a lot of difficulty,” Mello said. “We practiced five days a week for two hours and we only have two minutes and thirty seconds to be perfect. There’s nothing to do about it if you mess up, whatever happens out there, you can’t change it.”

Having months of practice come down to a short 150-second routine is stressful in and of itself, according to Dixon.

“You really just have to keep everyone calm,” Dixon said. “The main thing is confidence. You have to know what you’re doing. It’s really all muscle memory. We went early, so it was nice to warm up and get it over with.”

Being among one of the first teams to perform had its advantages, as it helped Dover get the nerves out early in the day.

“Personally, I like going earlier in the day,” Dixon said. “You can set the bar and not have to worry and be nervous for the rest of the day. You can just watch the other teams and wait it out.”

The disadvantage, however, was that it made for a long day for the Green Wave, as scores are not announced until the end. All Dover could do was enjoy the other teams’ performances and hope their score would hold up for a top finish.

“We were very confident before we went on,” Mello said. “We went in knowing we would hit our routine, then we went out there and we got it done.”

It was Dover’s fourth year qualifying for the New England meet, and came on the heels of finishing a mere half-point behind powerhouse Pinkerton the week before at the D-I meet. Pinkerton has won five straight winter spirit championships and 10 of the last 11, but Dover’s finish was the closest any team had come to beating the Astros in that stretch.

“Pinkerton is a dynasty, so even being half a point behind is amazing,” Heagarty said. “We have two seniors and three juniors, so for a team of mostly underclassmen to be able to handle that pressure is amazing.”